Preparations are under way for four days of celebrations in Stratford to mark Shakespeare's birthday.

The festivities this year will run from April 18 to April 21, two days ahead of the Bard's birthday.

Events will include the unveiling of a statue of Julius Caesar in Chapel Lane, a procession through the town, music from the Band of the Corps of the Royal Engineers, a charity ball and a concert.

There will also be circus performers and musicians entertaining the crowds, English folk dancing, open days at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, the Shakespeare Institute and the annual Shakespeare marathon.

A spokesman for the Shakespeare Birthday Celebrations Committee said: "From their origins in the 18th century, Stratford's birthday celebrations have developed into a unique international occasion, bringing together people from many countries, institutions and professions to do honour to the immortal memory of William Shakespeare.

"The events are organised to honour Shakespeare, the universally-acclaimed genius of the English-speaking people, whose work is read, studied and performed in every part of the world and whose renown and influence transcend all barriers of race, religion and politics."

The celebrations see invitations go to high commissioners and ambassadors, educational institutions, and leading figures in Shakespearean scholarship and the theatre.

RSC associate director Gregory Dean will give the birthday lecture about the forthcoming Jacobean plays at the Swan Theatre.

There will be a birthday performance of Antony and Cleopatra, and the Dean of Birmingham, the Very Rev Gordon Mursell, will give the sermon at the annual Shakespearean Service at Stratford's Holy Trinity Church on April 21.